Track & field: Paralympics and Special Olympics continues to grow at state meet

LAKEWOOD – The Special Olympics and Paralympics have been a fixture at the Colorado high school track and field championships for over a decade now.

Once again in 2022, the number of events and the number of heats in those events continued to grown, with champions crowned in six different events.

“It was pretty cool,” said Sterling’s Lucas Resch, who won the mixed Paralympics/Special Olympics discus and was second in the shot put. “I was pretty confident and a PR’d in shot with 32 (feet), so it was pretty cool.”

Fairview’s Eddie Sciacca won the mixed 100-meter dash Special Olympics race in 13.28 seconds and also took first in the 200-meter race with a time of 27.73 seconds. In the mixed long jump Paralympics/Special Olympics long jump, Longmont’s James Krat won with a mark of 15 feet.

In the mixed 100-meter Paralympics race, Simla’s Tate Shults won with a time of 16.21 seconds.

In the mixed Paralympics/Special Olympics shot put, Erie’s Trey Corbitt had a throw of 33 feet to win. With a throw of 76 feet, 3 inches, Resch took home gold in the mixed discus Paralympics/Special Olympics event.

“It’s been exciting two days, watching our Paralympics and Special Olympics athletes compete in the 100-meter, 200-meter, long jump, shot put and discus,” CHSAA assistant commissioner Jenn Roberts-Uhlig said on Friday. “It’s amazing to see the level of support each athlete had. The future for our athletes in this sport is very bright. Their faces showed it. I look forward to more unified athletes taking part in the coming years.”